Does the devil know the future? If not, do sorcerers, soothsayers, and astrologers see the future?

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First of all, only God is OMNISCIENT, which means “all-knowing.” Isaiah 46:9-10 says, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Only God foreknows and foretells the future.

Having said that, the Devil possesses a great deal of wisdom, for he has existed since before the creation of man. Ezekiel 28:12 describes him as “full of wisdom.” His wisdom, along with the knowledge he has in observing man and his behavior for thousands of years, allows him to make “educated guesses” as to what may or may not happen. But he is NOT all-knowing and thus he cannot foresee and foretell the future like God can.

Revelation 12:12 does give us another perspective, for it reads, “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Here we learn that Satan KNOWS HIS TIME IS SHORT! How does he know of his future defeat? I believe the answer is simple: he studies the scriptures! He knows the Bible from cover to cover, including passages which predict his ultimate defeat and eternal destiny. He is well aware of Revelation 20:2 which says, “And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” And he knows that after the thousand years are fulfilled he’ll be consigned to hell, according to verse 10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.” So, his study of the Bible allows him to know, to some extent, the future, just as we too can know the future through God’s inerrant, infallible Word.

Regarding sorcerers, soothsayers, and astrologers, they are but the Devil’s minions, and are even more limited in their ability to know the future. You may recall how King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, which dealt with future events, and what did he do? Daniel 2:2 tells us, “Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.” Were they able to interpret the dream and make known the future? No, they weren’t! Their words to the king in verse 10 is telling, “The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter.” Their words were true, for later Daniel himself, in verse 27, told the king, “The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king.” But Daniel went on to say in verse 28, “But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.”

Scripture commands us to have nothing to do with those who pretend to predict the future. In Deuteronomy 18:10 we are warned against “…one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer” (NKJV), for they are agents of the Devil. Some of those in the occult may even profess to speak in the Name of the Lord, but the acid test is found in Deuteronomy 18:22, “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken presumptuously” (NKJV). (145.3) (DO)